Remembering renews our commitment,
rekindles the flame,
invites us to walk on in faith and with hope.....
For Holy Saturday, as we
"remain in silence in poverty of heart before Him" (Constitutions #20),
we pray with some reflections offered by Concha.
Someone who took part in one of her retreats wrote: "From 15 till 21 February 2007, a large group of us who had made our first vows in 1957, went to Joigny to celebrate our golden jubilee. Marta Jiménez Forte gathered us together and I am grateful to her for doing this. Concha guided our retreat on the theme of the House - the Well - the River - the Vineyards - and the Wind. For me, and, I think, for many others, they were special days of renewal and happy new beginnings.
Asunción Ramirez kept some notes from those days, which she shared with everyone.
Here are the notes from the retreat with Concha,
adapted as points, with recent photos taken in Joigny by RSCJ.
The HOUSE:
feel the spirit of the family
The WELL... The RIVER:
contemplate... adore like Sophie...
discover God...
be amazed, surprised in God's presence...
re-read my life... welcome... accept...
offer my wounds to the Lord...
be a channel of humanity and not a relic of perfection....
be passionate for Jesus....
The VINEYARDS:
see motives for joy...
like Jesus, give thanks at moments of happiness and in moments of suffering...
rejoice in the grace of vocation, which is to give one's life for love...
Eucharist: like Christ, who in the bread and wine, surrenders his life...
The WIND:
allow ourselves to hope and be open...
"If I had to live my life again, it would only be in order to be faithful to the Spirit."
Our mission must grow in QUALITY.
We have been toiling hard... and we have not caught anything.
Peter allowed himself to be led by THE OTHER, "You will be a fisher of men"....
We must be distinguished in our RELATIONSHIPS;
in competencies, professionals can [surpass us].
MARY, WOMAN OF FAITH AMONG THE PEOPLE OF GOD (Constitutions #9).
She does not intone the Magnificat until she had been confirmed by Elizabeth.
A small affirmation from us can be the seed of growth in our brothers and sisters.
Concha Camacho rscj
** This excerpt is from Concepción Camacho Fernández Cañedo (1927-2014): Twelfth Superior General of the Society of the Sacred Heart (1970-1982), p. 123,
written by Mari Blanca de Sivatte Algueró rscj (translated by Clare Balfour rscj). Used with permission from the author.
** Photos by Agnieszka Wlodarczyk rscj, Kim Eun Jeong rscj, Yuka Arita rscj, Bethanie Sulleza rscj, and Maria Cimperman rscj.
Our Spirituality: